Walking toy



JOHN H. SHAW, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

wJiLKING TOY.

Speeicaton of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 10,y 1919. Serial No. 276,133.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. SHAW, a citizen of the United States, residing'in the city and county of New Haven, State of Connecti-V cut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Walking Toys, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description.

This-invention relates to a Walking toy and more particularly to a doll or the like constructed to simulate more or less accurately the walk of a human being, although it will be apparent that the mechanism herein disclosed may equally as well be applied to toy animals. .p

The normal walk of a human being consists in supporting the weight of the body upon one leg while the other legis swung to a forward position, the free leg while moving to its forward position being bent at both the knee and ankle suiiiciently to clear the ground as it passes the leg supporting the weight of the person. The di'lficulty ofproviding a simple but satisfactory walking toy is due tothe fact, that unless the toy is swung from side to side suiiiciently to permit lirst one leg to be advanced and then the other, some means must be provided t0 permit one leg to be swung to the a-dvancedfposition without striking the surface upon which" the leg` supporting'tlie Weight ci the toy rests.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a Walking toy with means whereby while the weightof the toy is sup-ported upon a surface by one leg, the other leg may be swung from a rear to al forwardy position without requiring the toy to be rocked transversely. y Y

A more specific obj ect of my invention is to provide a walkingftoy with pivoted legs, each of which is provided with gravity controlled means for automatically varying the overall length of each leg, whereby the leg which supports the weight of the toy willfor that instant possess a greater overalllength than the leg which isk swinging past the same. e l

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel arrangement of resilient means for swinging the pivoted legs to a forward position.V n

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described'and claimed'.

. having the In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a toy doll, shown partly cut away to illustrate my invention applied thereto, the left leg lbeing shown advanced and the weight resting upon the right leg.y y

Fig. 2 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 1, showing the position of the V'gravity controlled means when the step which is being taken bythe left leg in Fig. l has been partly completed, the weight of the toy in this figure being supported by the left leg, while the right le Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

O' is in position to be swung to its advanced position.`

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Figs. l and 2, showing the positionof the gravity 'controlled means afterthe right leg, (Fig. 2) has been swungforward to a position slightly in advance of the vertical position. Fig. lis an enlarged sectional view. of part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. `5 is an enlarged front view of part of the trunk or body of the toy showing the legs pivotally secured thereto.- Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of vone foot ofthe walking toy gravity controlled means applied thereto.- v

.F ig. 7 is a sectional view taken lon line 7--7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing a modification of my invention; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

In the embodiment of my invention, illustrated in the drawings, I have shown a toy doll having a one piece head and body or trunk designated by the numeral 10, and having legs 11 and 12 pivotally secured to the trunk 10, in a manner hereinafter more fully pointed out. Although I have illustrated my invention in connection with a toy doll, I desire to have it distinctly understood that my novel walking `mechanism herein disclosed may readily be applied to various vtypes'of toys provided with either y two or four legs.

The means which I have illustrated for pivotally securing the legs' 11 and 12 to the trunk 10 consists in providin the trunk 10 at Vits lower endthereof wit spaced concaved sockets 13 adapted t0 receive the upper rounded ends of the legs l1 and 12, and centrally positioned in each of these sockets is a downwardly projecting post `1 4, the upper 'end of which is preferably rigidly mounted in av drill-hole extending"v upwardly within the trunk 10, the lower portion of the post 14is preferably substantiallyl rectangular in cross-section and is adapted to be loosely received in a relatively just mentioned, the parts should be so constructed that the lower'portion of the post 14 will be loosely received in the slot 16 and the upper end of the legs 11 and-12'should at all times yclear the vsockets 13'which receive thesame. In most embodiments of my invention., it is desirable to Vprovide means for automatically advancing each leg from its rear to its forwardposition as `soon as theweight of the toy has been removed from the same, this, however, is not an essential feature in all. embodiments of my invention, since it will be apparent that my toy will walk down an inclined plane without this leg advancing means, as the force of gravity alone will be sufficient to swing` the legs to their forward position as soon as they are disengaged from the surface upon which the' toy stands. The leg advancing means'which I have illustrated in the drawings consists in providing a substantially U-shaped wire spring 18,'which is mounted in a saw cut 1,9 formed in the rear, face of thelower portion ofthe post 14. The spring 1S may beconveniently retained in its proper position within the post 14 by bending one end of the same in an outward direction, as at 20, which end is mounted in a drill-hole formed in the post 14. T-he other end 21 of the U-shaped `member 18 reacts against the bottom of the saw cut 16 formed in the upper end ofthe legs at a point above the horizontal plane of thepivot pin 17, the arrangement being such that the reaction of the end 21 of the spring 18 against thel upper end of the pivoted legs 11 and 12 tends to swing the legs about their pivot 17 to a forward position, as willbe apparent.

As above pointed out, in order to provide a walking toy which will simulate the walk of a person or animal, it is necessary to provide some means wherebywhile the weight of the toy is supported upon one leg, the

, other leg will bepermitted to swing past the 'same without striking the surface upon which the weight supporting leg stands.

'The means which I haveprovided for this pur-pose .consistsv in slidably mounting a v roller or'the like/22 `in the bottom of each foot, thesame being constructc'edfandv` ar- .ranged to move bach forth va long im tudinal direction within each'foot along an inclined path so 'that when the roller is moved to itsv rearmost position, as shownin -full lines in Fig. 6, the same will be partly exposed below the lower face or sole of the foot, and when the roller 22 is moved along its inclined path within the foot to its forward position, it will be entirely housed in the same, as indicatedin dotted lines in this ligure. One convenient means of mounting the roller 22 so that it will, operate in the manner just set forth is to provide thisV roller with a relatively short stub shaft 23 extending centrally from the opposite sides thereof, which forms an axle to guide the roller back and forth along the inclined track formed by the spaced wires 24 and 25. The wire 24 preferably has the configurationof a hairpin or of the letter U with relan tively long legs, the end of whichlegs are driven into the toe yof the foot, as indicated at 26. The wire guiding' means 25 may be similarly `formed, except that the roundedl at 27, so that this bent portion 27 will abut against the spaced wires 24 near the vrounded end of the same, as shown inFig. G, whereby the guide wires 24 and 25 maybe retained in spaced relation, so that'the axle orstub` shaft 23upon the roller 22 may move freely back and forth between these parallel spaced wires. vThe looped end ofthe spaced wires 24 and 25 are preferablysecured in place by the L-shaped pinV or staple 2S, which may be driven into the heel ofthe foot, as shown, with the head of this staple in engagement with one end of the wires 24 and 25, the other end oi' the spaced wires 25 are preferably driven into the toe ofthe foot, as indicated by 26. The spaced U-shaped wires 24 and 25 areso positioned within a slot 29v formed in the bottom of each foot, that when the roller 22 moved toits rearmost position, it is exposed below the bottom of the foot,'and when moved to the other end of its path of travel, it entirely housed within the foot, as above stated.

by the force ofgravity, as the foot is moved by the spring'lS to the advanced position here show-n. Turning our attention to Fig.

2 as' the toy is moved forward Vpreferablyy ,graspingy the Vsame and. imparting or 'ward movement'to the same, the body-of the iis When the right Y i izo the same having been moved to this position toy will be moved in a forward direction relatively to the leg 11 upon which the weight of the same is supported, this leg being swung about the pivot pin 17, so that it gradually assumes a rearward position, while at the same time the toy moves downwardly slightly toward the supporti-ng plane 29, this being due to thefact that the leg 11, although still supporting the weight of the toy, does not lie in a vertical position, so that upon further movement of the toy in a forward direction the heel of the left leg 12 willv come into contact with the plane 29 and immediately thereafter the weight of the toy will be transferred to this leg and will be supported by the roller 22 mounted in the foot `of the same, As soon as the weight of the toy is removed from the right leg, the roller 22, due to the force "of gravity, will roll down its guide-way to the position shown yin dotted lines in Fig. 2, whereupon this right leg may then be freely swung to its forward position by its spring 18v without contacting with the surface 29, the roller 22 remaining completely housed within the foot until the same has swung past its vertical position, as vindicated in Fig. 3 of the drawing, but as this right leg continues to move forwardly, the roller 22 lwill be moved by the force of gravity toward the heel-of the foot in position to again engage the plane 29 and support its foot out of contact with the same.v In order to prevent the roller 22 from moving prematurely along its inclined path, ajnotch 30 is preferably cut in the opposite spaced wires 24 to kreceive the axle 23 of the roller and likewise, if desired, a similar notch 31 may be formed in the spaced wires 25' to receive the axle 23 and thereby prevent vthe roller from being prematurely moved from the'toe toward the heel of the foot. Both the heel and the toe of the footfare preferably rounded, 'as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawing.- l

In Figs. 8 and 9 'of thel drawing, Iy have shown a modification of the structure illus# end of the tube 32 is preferably secured in place by a screw 34, the head of which serves as means for preventing the ball 22 from passing the same and thereby escaping from within itstube 32. From the above description, it will be apparent that I have devised a walking toy, which when the same is grasped and moved along a surface, prefnexed claims.

Vhat I claim is:

1. A walking toy having legs pivotally secured to the body thereof, feet upon said legs, gravity operated members mounted within said feet andautomatically movable into and out ofthe plane of the bottom of said feet, whereby while one leg supports the weight of the toy the other leg and the gravity operated member carried thereby may swing past the weightfsupporting-leg without striking the surface upon whichv the toy walks. y Y

2. A walking toy having legs pivotally7 secured to the body thereof, feet upon said legs, and means lfor permitting one leg to swing lfreely from lits rear toits forward position without striking thesurface upon which the toy is supported by the other leg, comprising a supporting member slidably mounted in each foot and movableinto and out of the plane of Vthebottom of said foot by the force of gravity. y v

3. A walking toy having legs pivotally secured to the body thereof, feet upon lsaid legs, and means for permitting one leg to swing freely from its. rear to its forward position without striking the surface upon which the toy is supported bythe otherleg, comprising a, supporting vmember Vmounted within' each Iof said feet and constructed to move along an inclined path within said feet towardand fromthe bottomv ofthe same.r-` .i 4. A walking toy having legs pivotally' secured tothe body thereof, feet upon said legs, and means for permitting one leg to swing freely from its rear to its forward 116 position without striking the surface upon which the toy is supported by the other leg.l comprising a roller mounted in each of said feet and movable into and out of the Vplane of the bottoms of said feet by the forcejof 120 gravity; i l5. A walking) toy havinfg legs pivotally secured lto the o dy thereo feet upon said legs, and means for permitting one leg to swing freely from its rear to its forward `125.

position withoutstriking the surface upon which the toy is supported by the other leg, comprising a supporting roller movably mounted in each foot, constructed to be completely housed within its foot when the foot is swung to its rearmost position, and to automatically move therefrom to an exposed position as the foot `is swung toward its advanced position. Y

6. A walkin toy having legs pivotally secured to the ody thereof, feet upon said legs, and means for permitting one leg to swin freely from its rear to its forward position without striking the surface upon which the toy is supported by the other leg,

comprising a roller movably mounted in each foot and constructed to travel along an inclined path whereby when said roller is moved to its rearmost position it will lie artially exposed below the bottom of the goot, and when moved to its forward position said roller will be completely housed within said foot.

7. A walking toy having legs pivotally secured to the body thereof, feet upon said legs, and means for permitting one leg to swing freely from its rear to its forward position without striking the surface upon which the toy is supported by the other leg, comprising a supporting member vslidably mounted in each foot, means within each foot for guiding said supporting means along an inclined path relatively to the bottom of the foot, wherebv said supporting means when moved to its rearmost position is partiallyreXposed and when moved to its advanced position is entirely housed within said foot.

8. A walking toyl having legs pivotally secured to the body thereof, feet upon said legs, and means for ypermitting oneleg to" swing freely from its rear to its forward position without striking the surface upon which the toy is supported by the other leg,

comprisingl a toy supporting member slidably mounted in each foot, means'for guiding said member along a path inside of said feet inclined at an angle to the sole of the same whereby said member is exposed below the sole of said foot' when inv one position and is entirely housed within said foot when 'in a second position, and means for preventing a premature movement of said supporting member from one end of its path of travel to the other.

9. A walking toy having legs pivotally secured to theliody thereof, feet uponsaid legs, means tending to automatically swing said legs to their forward position, and supporting means movablv mounted in each of said feet, said supporting` means constructed and arranged to be moved to and from the inferior of said feet byv the force of gravity.

10. A walking toy having legs pivotally secured to the body thereof` feet upon said legs, resilient means for swinging said legs forwardly relatively v to said body, and

gravity controlled means mounted within varied.

. 11. A walking'toy having legs pivotally secured to the body thereof, feet upon said legs, supporting means slidably mounted in said feet, said supporting means constructed to be moved by gravity intoand out of the interior of said feet whereby ythe overall length of said legs is vautomatically de'- creased and increased. v Y:

12. A walking toy provided with a body and legs pivotally secured thereto, spaced leg supporting means rigidly secured to said body member, a leg pivotally mounted upon each of said supporting means, and resilient means for automatically swinging'said legs to their advanced position, comprising a spring housed withinV each of said leg supp'orting means and having one end projecting therefrom into position to react against the leg pivotally secured to the supporting means in which it is housed.

13. A walking toy having legs secured to the body thereof, feet upon said legs, and gravity controlled means carried by vsaid feet, said means constructed and larranged to be moved by gravity into and out of position to project from the bottom ofsaid feet.

14. A walking toy having legs Vpivotally secured'to the body thereof, feet upon said legs, andV gravity operated means carried by said feet, said means constructed and arranged to` move into theinterior of each foot as the foot is moved to oneVV position and to protrude therefrom as the foot is moved to another position.

15. A walking toy having legs pivotally secured to thev body thereof, Lsupporting means movably carried byV each of said legs, said supporting means constructed and 'arranged to be moved by the force of gravity to and from a position to protrude from said-legs.Y 1 Y Y 16. A walking toy having legs secured to the body thereof, feet upon said legs having longitudinal slots formed in the bottoms thereof, rollers slidably mounted within said slots and movable therein to and from a position to protrudefrom the bottoms of said feet, said rollers having stub shafts proiecting from the opposite 'sides thereof, and means within said slots constructed to engage saidrshafts to` retainfs'aid rollers within said slots f Y In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand on thel 7 th day of February, 1919. 

